By Michael de Laine, Copenhagen, 12 December 2013Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt has had to reshuffle her cabinet again after two ministers resigned in just two days.On Tuesday, Minister of Justice and Immigration Morten Bødskov (Social Democrats) stepped down after admitting to the Parliamentary Legal Affairs Committee that he had concocted a lie to explain why the Committee’s planned visit to the free town of Christiania in February 2012 was cancelled.Pia Kjærsgaard of the Danish People’s Party and a member of the Committee would have been on the visit, but the Police Intelligence Service (PET) told the minister that Pia Kjærsgaard’s participation would have caused a serious personal terror threat.But instead of saying that to the committee Morten Bødskov said Police Commissioner Johan Reimann could not attend because of prior commitments – but failed to add that as minister Bødskov could order the Police Commissioner to take part.On Wednesday, Minister of Foreign Affairs Villy Søvndal (Socialist People’s Party) resigned for health reasons. He suffered a cerebral thrombosis in October and has been under treatment and recuperation since, but the doctors have now advised him that his condition is not compatible with the stress of a high government post.The Prime Minister today announced that Minister of Taxation Holger K. Nielsen (Socialist People’s Party) takes over the foreign minister post, while the same party’s Member of Parliament Jonas Dahl becomes Minister of Taxation.Minister of Food, Agriculture and Fishery Karen Hækkerup (Social Democrats) takes over as Minister of Justice. She is replaced by Dan Jørgensen, a Member of the European Parliament for the Social Democrats.See More

By Michael de Laine, Copenhagen, 12 December 2013Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt has had to reshuffle her cabinet again after two ministers resigned in just two days.On Tuesday, Minister of Justice and Immigration Morten Bødskov (Social Democrats) stepped down after admitting to the Parliamentary Legal Affairs Committee that he had concocted a lie to explain why the Committee’s planned visit to the free town of Christiania in February 2012 was cancelled.Pia Kjærsgaard of the Danish People’s Party and a member of the Committee would have been on the visit, but the Police Intelligence Service (PET) told the minister that Pia Kjærsgaard’s participation would have caused a serious personal terror threat.But instead of saying that to the committee Morten Bødskov said Police Commissioner Johan Reimann could not attend because of prior commitments – but failed to add that as minister Bødskov could order the Police Commissioner to take part.On Wednesday, Minister of Foreign Affairs Villy Søvndal (Socialist People’s Party) resigned for health reasons. He suffered a cerebral thrombosis in October and has been under treatment and recuperation since, but the doctors have now advised him that his condition is not compatible with the stress of a high government post.The Prime Minister today announced that Minister of Taxation Holger K. Nielsen (Socialist People’s Party) takes over the foreign minister post, while the same party’s Member of Parliament Jonas Dahl becomes Minister of Taxation.Minister of Food, Agriculture and Fishery Karen Hækkerup (Social Democrats) takes over as Minister of Justice. She is replaced by Dan Jørgensen, a Member of the European Parliament for the Social Democrats.See More

By Michael de Laine, The Copenhagen Voice9 August 2013Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt (S) has yesterday made the first major changes to her government since the coalition of the Social Democrats (S), the Socialist Peoples' Party (SF) and the Social Liberals took office following parliamentary elections in September 2011.The changes follow a summer of speculation that Helle Thorning-Schmidt would strengthen the government's line-up ahead of the local government election in November, the European Parliament election next May and the Danish parliamentary election due in September 2015 at the latest.There has also been speculation about the role of Henrik Sass Larsen, considered to be one of the strongest cards in the Social Democrats' political hand. Many observers expected him to become a leading minister when the government was formed in 2011, but a dubious relationship to a member of the Bandidos Motorcycle Club stopped that.Henrik Sass Larsen has since been the chairman of the Social Democrats' parliamentary group. Now, he has been named Minister for Business and Growth, replacing Annette Vilhelmsen, the leader of SF.She moves from the Ministry for Business and Growth to the Ministry for Social Affairs, Children and Integration, replacing Minister for Social Affairs and Integration Karen Hækkerup (S).Karen Hækkerup takes over as Minister for Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, replacing Mette Gjerskov (S), who leaves the government.The Ministry for Trade and Investment will be merged with the Ministry for European Affairs, and the new Ministry for Trade and European Affairs will be headed by former Minister of Defence Nick Hækkerup (S).Minister for European Affairs Nicolai Wammen (S) becomes Minister of Defence.Minister for Trade and Investment Pia Olsen Dyhr (SF) becomes Minister of Transport instead of Henrik Dam Kristensen (S), who leaves the government. He is expected to become the Social Democrats' new parliamentary group chairman.Minister of Foreign Affairs Villy Søvndal, the former leader of the Socialist Peoples' Party, continues in his post. There has been speculation that he would leave the government.Pia Olsen Dyhr also becomes a member of the government's co-ordination committee, replacing Minister for Taxation Holger K. Nielsen (SF).There are no changes to the ministries headed by the Social Liberals.See More

Learn a bit more about the project to save Tasmanian Devils - a joint project between Australia and Denmark through the Copenhagen Zoo.Androo Kelly is the Wildlife Preservationist and owner of Trowunna Wildlife Park in Tasmania. He has devoted more than 30 years to saving animals at risk of becoming extinct.At present the two females are with young - and we will know in November-December if the young will prosper and move out of the pouch.In the meantime, check out this video Mook, Malaga are the two male devils, Miena and Myth are the two female devils. In the video Mook actually comes up to Androo and Jon to say hello.Click here to read and sign up for helping Save the Tasmanian Devil Program - Donate to the Appeal:http://www.tassiedevil.com.au/tasdevil.nsfTrowunna Wildlife Park - Tasmania Link:http://www.trowunna.com.au/Article and images of Jon English Visit to see Devils:http://www.demotix.com/news/2141829/jon-english-australian-rock-icon-visits-tasmanian-devils-cph-zoo#media-2141670See More

Last Friday, June 7th, The Copenhagen Zoo announced that the two female Tasmanian Devils have young in their pouches. It is estimated that the babies will leave the pouch between October-November this year when they have reached maturity. At present, Miena and Myth are most likely carrying approximately 2-4 babies each. During this time, the two females will stay mostly inside during the day and come out at night. The public has a chance to see the two males Malaga and Mook during the day in their outside facility. This is the second group of captive-bred devils who have been flown to Denmark in October 2012 to take up residence at the Copenhagen Zoo. The first group of four devils to come to Denmark was in April of 2006. They were a gift to the Royal family to mark the birth of the future king of Denmark, Prince Christian; the son of Crown Prince Frederik and his Tasmanian-born wife Princess Mary. This transfer of devils is part of a breeding project facilitated by Androo Kelly, a Wildlife Preservationist at the Trowunna Wildlife Park in Tasmania. The Devils are at serious risk of becoming extinct due to a contagious facial tumor disease that spreads to other devils as a result of common behavior social fighting.The existence of offspring for the females is a positive sign, and everyone involved with the breeding project is optimistic for its success. However, these are highly strung temperamental animals that require specific care and need the proper environment to breed. As Androo explains, these animals have unique personalities and possess excellent memories. He jokes that when he arrived at the CPH Zoo and met with one of the female devils, she ran away from him right away - he sensed that the devil remembered he was the one who put her in the box heading for long journey to Denmark.On Monday June 10, Jon English, a famous Australian musician and long time Ambassador for Save the Tasmanian Devils Appeal project visited the devils at the Zoo. Androo Kelly has been at the zoo providing assistance with the maintenance and development of the breeding project. Kelly and Zoo staff, Bengt Holst (Senior Scientist), Flemming Neilson (Senior Curator) and Sammy (Head of Educational Dept), facilitated a Tasmanian Devil presentation for the public on Monday, and shared relevant information about the temperament of this animal along with the seriousness of their disease and the importance of the breeding program. The Copenhagen Zoo is the only place outside of Australia that hosts devils. While meeting with Androo Kelly and devil caretaker Zarco Somme, Jon English was shown the devil facilities and had a chance to see first hand how the devils were doing. For many years, Jon English has been successful in raising funds for devil public awareness and important research supporting the eradication of the contagious cancer tumors that threaten their existence. Website: (http://www.tassiedevil.com.au/tasdevil.nsf/) Save the Tasmanian Devils Project Appeal.If this breeding project is a success this time round, then Androo Kelly will return in October to oversee the integration of the babies at the Zoo. At present, there is talk that the Copenhagen Zoo is looking into expanding the devil facilities to accommodate the babies. See More

2012 - President Ma Ying-Jeou opens Matsu ceremony inside Jenn Lann Temple - Dajai.The 330 kilometer pilgrimage to honor the Matsu Chinese Sea Goddess began this month from March 23 to April 1st. More than one million worshipers were expected to participate in the nine day celebration honoring the sacred "Matsu” known as the protector of fishermen.Inside look into this amazing festival.The Holy WalkA thunder of drums at night announce the release of the goddess Matsu at the Jenn Lann Temple. As worshipers wait for the palanquin holding the Matsu Goddess to be released from the temple, tens of thousands gather outside to witness the constant flow of visitors offering their ceremonious forms of entertainment. Shouldered together, drums beat, dancers perform, dragons fly through wild flames, and fireworks continue to break ear drums. Like packed sardines, the Taiwanese somehow manage to create a space where it would seem impossible for people to kneel down and pray in front of the temple.The true scale of the pilgrimage is enormous. Floats, dragons, martial arts performers, acrobatics, musicians, people in uniforms from schools, community centers, churches, organizations fill the streets in a bull's eye line heading straight for the Temple.The Sacred PathThe Matsu goddess is carried by the crowd and covers about 330 km through 102 temples and returns to the starting point in the village of Dajai. Along the way the Matsu palanquin enters towns and stops to receive gifts and open arms. A line forms in front of her, and thousands get down on their hands and knees and crawl under the Matsu palanquin. This ceremonial action is believed to give the people Matsu's blessing of luck and good health – their prayers are believed to come true. Pilgrims choose to either walk, use a motorcycle or bike, and many can be seen with only small backpacks and a sleeping bag. Many spend the night on the floor of the temples. The hotels along the pilgrimage path offer people free showers and supply thousands of kilos of food offerings to the pilgrims.The most interesting aspect to this whole traditional experience, was to witness this through the eyes of a Westerner. It was mouth dropping to seeing massive amounts of volunteers cleaning the streets of the fireworks aftermath only seconds after the Matsu palanquin left the square of Jenn Lann Temple. In America and Denmark, after a festival, the streets could be filled with trash hours and sometimes days after. There were no official clean-up crews, only local volunteers who cleaned the streets after the Matsu presented herself to the public at Jenn Lann Temple Square. Something was also magical in witnessing thousands of people coexisting in the crowded spaces. Inside the temple one could hardly move from one spot to the next. The streets were a contant flow of bodies moving like a stream of fish. And the Jenn Lann Temple Square was so over crowded, one had no choice but to stay in one place for the whole ceremony. Even in the midst of this seemingly chaotic mass of people, the local Taiwanese were extremely humble and respectful of each other's personal space. For a Westerner, it did not seem possible that so many people could nearly be on top of each other – without there being some kind of fight, pushing, or profanities flying in the verbal exchange.As one panned the crowd, the worshipers, and the public outside the temple, there was no sign of anyone holding a Coke bottle, a Poland Spring water bottle, or any kind of soft drink with a company branding. It seemed like one had walked into a place that was void of the corporation. Almost as if the corporations had missed the boat on tapping into a target group who clearly could have been thirsty while watching hours upon hours of the Matsu performances. Something seemed a bit off for the Westerner who was used to company brands jumping into every corner of our lives from religious holidays to who will be on top – with new Coke 2013 campaigns like ”Vote now to decide who wins” - depicting Arabs, pretty show girls, cowboys and gangsters all chasing a Coke bottle. Where is the Taiwanese or the Asian in the company branding video? There was none. One could assess, perhaps they were not even allowed to be a represented population in the Coke race. See link:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uFQAqwbwSgThe Matsu Festival was more than just a religious tradition, it was an inside look into a deeply mystical Southeast Asian culture – one that for many of us, simply have yet to see or truly understand. Despite China's ruling threat over Taiwan, it has managed to become one of Asia's biggest trading nations and is one of the world's top producers of computer technology. Often considered by China to be the ”rebels”, due to Taiwan's so called independence from the China ”mainland” in 1950, Taiwan still battles diplomatic isolation, having no United Nations representation after having lost the seat to China in 1971. China insists that nations cannot have official relations with Taiwan, and despite this political pressure, Washington (US arms sales) is the main weapons supplier to this island.Despite high tensions between the mainland and the rebels, currently, Taiwan and China maintain healthy trade relations commencing in June 2010 with a signed trade pact. President of the Republic of China (Taiwan) Ma Ying-jeou has been largely regarded as the master frontier of stable relations between China and Taiwan.http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16164639http://www.demotix.com/news/1919133/matsu-chinese-sea-goddess-returns-taiwan#media-1919082Outside Jenn Lann Temple - worshipers wait patiently for the Matsu Goddess to exit the temple and begin her 9 day pilgrimage across Taiwan countryside.Worshipers praying to Matsu Deity inside Jenn Lann Temple - Dajai.See More

Published on Mar 21, 2012FIFA Futbol Mundial profiles the Danish African Soccer Academy, or Dasac, a project that helps develop youths in both Denmark and Kenya spearheaded by former international player Hamid Faiz Junior.Juniour is sponsoring this soccer project all on his own. He is a native Kenyan living in Denmark - he has changed the lives of hundreds of impoverished Kenyan boys who have a love and passion for soccer. He has taken kids off the streets and gotten them off of drugs and back in school and soccer - going back to school is one of the requirements if the boys want to play on the DASAC-Kenya team. Juniour has had countless success stories of boys who have changed their quality of life through dedicating their time to playing soccer and going back to school.Please watch 6 minute video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R54SDVJZ24c&feature=share&list=PLC8510A4D127C84B0And if you have a love of soccer and contributing to improving the lives of less fortunate boys with a passion for soccer - contact Juniour and donate to this project. Email Juniour:hamidfaizjuniour@yahoo.dkSee More